Fallen Angels
Fallen angels, as other angels refer to them, or demons, as they like to refer to themselves, are the angels who once lived in Heaven but were cast down after they sided with Lucifer in the rebellion. After the Fall of Heaven, the forces of Hell assimilated the power once coveted by the angels and are now among the most powerful beings in the universe. History Just as all of angels, the fallen angels were the first creations God. As mankind came into existence on Earth, God became enamored with them and eventually began to favor them over angels. While many angels were content to begrudgingly accept being their father's second favorite, the now fallen angels, led by the former archangel Lucifer, rebelled, refusing to let their father love mankind more than he and his brethren. This eventually led to a war between the angels who still remained loyal to God and the angels who sided with Lucifer. Amidst the chaos that ensued, God disappeared, which the fallen angels blame the humans for. In the end, the angels of Heaven won and as punishment for the transgressions Lucifer and the other angels who sided with him, their wings were taken and thus fell from Heaven. While originally, the intention of the other angels was to let Lucifer and his followers roam Earth among mankind for the rest of time, they underestimated how powerful Lucifer still was. Using much of the power he still had left, Lucifer would forge a "pit" beneath our realm, which would serve as the new home of the fallen angels and their leader. From that moment on, the name demon was adopted as they no longer wanted to identify as angels and they vowed to seek vengeance upon the angels who cast them out of their home and humanity. One unavoidable consequence of having a new home beneath Earth, however, was that the fallen angels, without their wings, were no longer able to return to Earth in their physical bodies once they had descended. It is from this that demons developed the ability to possess humans. Over the next several centuries, angels and demons vied for influence over humanity. The world would, for a long time be gripped by an ongoing struggle between Heaven, which sought to please their absentee father by protecting humanity, and Hell, which blamed humanity for their father's absence and sought only the downfall of mankind. Eventually, an agreement was made and Heaven and Hell decided that they would leave humanity to its own devices. Good souls would be allowed into Heaven and the evil souls would go to Hell. No bargaining, no fighting over them, just a balanced system until they decided to bring about the Apocalypse. Powers Demons are diverse and the exactly powers of each demon vary. A few simple powers possessed by nearly all demons are: * Invulnerability: While not all demons are immune to Earthly weapons, most are not as vulnerable to them as the average human. A low level demon can easily be hit with a car and survive. * Regeneration: Like angels, demons will heal from most any injury caused by Earthly weapons and hazards (like fire or car crashes) within seconds. * Super Stamina: Demons, like angels, do not require food, water, or sleep to sustain themselves. However, like angels, they can become exhausted if put through their paces by an angel or another demon and in this case. * Supernatural Perception: Demons can perceive magic, magical beings, and other supernatural entities like themselves. Additionally, so long as they aren't masked with magic, when a supernatural being enters their "field" of perception, a demon can "sense" it, immediately. Hell and Demonic power Since the Fall of Heaven and the claiming of its power by Hell, demons have become considerably more powerful as a whole. This is because, like angels, demons derive their power from their home. Prior to the apocalypse, demons were naturally at a disadvantage against angels because demons were essentially angels cut off from Heaven. Thus, with Hell now possessing all the power once held by Heaven, the source of the demons' powers is much greater. The reason souls were desired by both sides, the reason Heaven and Hell both wielded immense energy and granted their caretakers such vast and seemingly endless power is because of the plethora of souls in each realm. Souls, pure energy bound in human flesh, wield more power than a nuclear reactor and as such, were used as the fuel for angels and demons alike. This is how demons attained their current level of power. After conquering Heaven, but before destroying it, they took the souls housed there and added it to their domain. Additionally, with no Heaven for souls to go to, all of the dead go to Hell, only adding to their already growing power. Hell Gates While no longer able to fly and freely traverse the cosmos like angels, demons have forged numerous gateways between Earth and Hell to allow free passage. It was the initial forging of these gates that enabled demons to take physical forms to begin with. Now, these gates are scattered throughout the world and are usually heavily guarded by the Knights of Hell. Types of Demons Leviathans (Non-playable) Leviathans are second only to Lucifer himself and were instrumental in bringing about the Apocalypse. Former seraphim, these fallen angels became the most powerful of demons. Once no greater than their seraph counterparts, while in Hell, these demons became comparable to archangels. Currently, there are only four, known Leviathans. Most people know of them as the Four Horsemen; War, Death, Famine, and the False Prophet (Anti-Christ). Denizens (Non-Playable) Like the Leviathans, Denizens are former seraphs and are now among the most powerful demons. During the war, Denizens served as the great leaders of Hell's armies and now mostly serve as the wealthiest of shareholders or world leaders in disguise, pulling strings behind the curtain. They are among the most powerful and feared beings in the universe and are almost always accompanied by an entourage of Knights. Knights of Hell Mostly composed of former Grigori, the Knights of Hell, commonly referred to as just Knights, are now comparable to seraphs. In addition to a handful of additional powers not possessed by the common demon, Knights are also skilled warriors capable of wielding any weapon they pick up with near mastery and deadly precision. Unique abilities possessed by the Knights are: * Super Agility: Knights move quicker than humans and have exceptional reflexes. * Super Strength: A Knight can easily pull car doors off hinges, single handed or punch a hole in concrete. * Demonic Fire: Knights have the unique ability to create and manipulate fire. Additionally, fire created by a Knight can burn other supernatural beings, like angels. * Demon/Hell Forges: Knights all possess weapons forged in the fires of Hell. These unique weapons are among the only things that can kill demons or angels and can come in a wide range of sizes and shapes. Demonic Reapers Like their angelic counterparts, the reapers of Hell are former reapers for Heaven who sided with Lucifer during the first war. Now, demonic reapers are among the busiest of reapers since the Fall of Heaven and Hell becoming the only resting place for human souls. Demonic reapers possess the following abilities in addition to the normal abilities of demons: * Super Agility: Knights move quicker than humans and have exceptional reflexes. * Super Strength: A Knight can easily pull car doors off hinges, single handed or punch a hole in concrete. * Healing: Reapers are able to heal others, whether angel or human, or fallen angel. All they need do is touch the one they want to heal. This ability is still a drain on them, however, and the more injured someone is, the more of a drain it will be on Reapers to heal them. * Resurrection: Reapers are the only ones capable of bringing someone back to life. However, the creature or person must only have been dead for no more than a day and they must be mostly whole. If they are missing an arm or leg, a reaper cannot being them back. * Draining: Just as they are able to give life, reapers are capable of taking it as well. While angelic reapers no longer need to escort souls to Heaven, they can manipulate the souls of living beings to perform certain tasks. Such as siphon off the life of one person to heal another. Teleportation Without their wings, reapers could only move about in their incorporeal form, dragging souls to Hell once they'd passed. However, with all their travels, reapers became skilled at moving about the material world and have thus learned the means to teleport. Demonic reapers, having extensive knowledge of the nature of the material world due to their travels while collecting souls for hell, have since unlocked the ability to teleport. Often seen evaporating in a puff of smoke, reapers are the only demons, except for Lucifer and the Leviathans, who can "jump" from Earth to Hell without needing a Hell's Gate. Fiends Former cherubs, fiends make up the bulk of demonic forces and ranged from normal grunts to actual leaders. Fiends in a leadership position within the hierarchy of demons are usually referred to as "archfiends" though the title is mostly symbolic and does not grant additional powers. However, many archfiends have filled the roles of local politicians in angel heavy areas in order for Hell's forces to maintain control. Fiends do no possess any additional or unique abilities. The Scourge (Non-playable) Long before the Apocalypse began, demons experimented with creating their own demons. Eventually, their demons learned how to twist, mangle, and corrupt human souls and then "mash" them together into something resembling a new creature. The result were the first of the Sourge and have since served as shock troops for the forces of Hell. Animal-like, unintelligent, and ravenous, these monsters are far closer to rabid attack dogs than to the humans they used to be. Weaknesses While impervious to most Earthly weapons or hazards, there are a handful of things that angels are vulnerable to and can be injured or killed with. * Devil's Trap - Without their ability to fly, demons are vulnerable to snares. Though all cultures have their own versions, most symbols referred to as "devil's traps" will in deed trap a demon until the seal wears away or is broken. Traps do not work on reapers or Leviathans. * Eviction Spell - There are a handful of spells, both originating from Heaven and Hell that can evict a demon from a certain area. They are forcibly transported to the edge of the spell's range. Though, after the spell is completed and the demon is sent away, they can immediately reenter the area. * Angel Wards - As fallen angels, certain spells that prevent angels from entering a certain area can also prevent a demon from doing the same. Not the same as an eviction spell and not capable of sending a demon already in the area away, these spells can prevent a demon from coming anywhere near a spot or prevent them from sensing the presence of something. Death The average demon is more vulnerable to Earthly made weapons and fiends, archfiends, and even some reapers, can be injured by things like guns. However, most things inflicted upon a demon by Earthly forces are not fatal. Weapons capable of fatally wounding a demon are generally the same things that can kill an angel. Injuries to a demon inflicted with one of the following weapons will heal at the same rate as a wound on a human would: * Archangel's Blade * Demon/Hell Forged Weapons * Angel Wing Weapons * Smiting - While not a physical weapon, a lower to mid level demon can be smited by an archangel. Summoning Rituals There are a handful of rituals/summoning spells that have been created by various cultures across the globe throughout the course of time. While not necessarily a weakness, nor is a demon compelled to appear before someone who performs a summoning spell, many demons have used these spells to capture angels. This tactic works due to the fact that blood is always required in these rituals and both angels and demons can sense who's blood is being used if they've met the person before. Many demons exploit this by capturing one angel and summoning another with the captured angel's blood. Relationships Demons/Fallen Angels While mostly cooperative towards their own kind, many demons have grown discontent with Lucifer's goals for Earth. Since the Fall of Heaven, a schism among the demons has recently formed and only increased in size as some demons no longer wish to participate in the slow destruction of Earth. Many demons still marvel at their father's creations and do not wish to see it all destroyed, just humans. For these demons, the unceasing efforts of Lucifer and his still loyal followers to slowly kill everything God ever created goes against what they've always wanted. Some demons who still feel for their fellow angels have rebelled and left Lucifer's side. Angels The relationship between angels and their fallen brethren has been complicated and bitter-sweet. While many demons harbor deep resentment for the angels who cast them out of Heaven, most demons view them as just the family members they disagreed with. However, many demons have abandoned their hostility towards angels after the Fall of Heaven, feeling for the destruction of their home. Humans The opinions and relationships of demons with humans varies considerably from demon to demon and human to human. For the most part, demons view humans as the flawed creation of their father and a blight on the face of creation. As such, all demons generally wish for the extinction of humanity. While some have grown less hateful towards humanity, virtually no demon views humanity in a positive light. Witches The relationship between demons and the witches is a complicated one that is more often negative than positive. This is mainly due to the fact that demons see witches as a threat. Witches are powerful humans not easily manipulated by demons and a human not easily manipulated is a human most demons would prefer dead. Nevertheless, many witches have joined forces with demons, especially since the apocalypse, many of which hope to be able to create more demons by perfecting the practice of creating the Scourge.